


Maybe

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Gen, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-29 04:25:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3882241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He just sat there on the couch, looking at nothing." </p><p>In which Bucky is still getting used to the idea of Freedom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe

**Author's Note:**

> God, I wrote this so long ago and it's still good.

He just sat there on the couch, looking at nothing.

Wary glances were sent his way, but he acknowledged none of them. He just stared. 

"It should be expected." Natasha shrugged when confronted by the rest of the team. She's been through this before, she knows what it's like. "He's been conditioned to do nothing more than, 'complete the mission and follow orders'. Honestly, I'd be surprised if he jumped into this new world with no problems." 

New World. 

That's how she put it. 

And that's really what it was. 

A completely new world. 

No orders. No mission. No handlers. No freezer. 

Now he can do anything. 

He can form thoughts. Develop a personality; opinions. Make choices. Find hobbies. Have _freedom_. 

Freedom. 

To him it was a foreign word. It lost all meaning after the first few wipes. 

_'What do I do now? When's my next mission?'_

No. 

There were no more missions. 

So now...what? 

He was lost. He was confused. Everything was thrust upon him at once and he didn't know how to handle it. 

So he sat on the couch, knees drawn to his chest. He stared at nothing. He didn't even think. 

He just waited for the new mission that some part of him knew would never come. 

** 

Stark was - unsurprisingly - the first one to approach the former assassin. 

"Hey, James. Bucky. Whatever you like to call yourself." 

Bucky's head snapped up. He said nothing, but all of his attention was on the man in front of him. 

"O-kay then." Tony plopped himself on the couch, carefully noting the way the soldier flinched. "You've been sitting on this couch for what, two days? You need to get up and do something sometime." 

Bucky huddled his body closer to himself. "I...I don't." His voice was rusty from disuse. "What...do I do?" 

"I dunno, eat? You eat right?" 

As the soldier methodically rose himself from the couch, Tony made a sound of disapproval. Bucky flinched back and looked like he did some horrible grievance. 

Tony forced himself to stay calm and not show exactly how angry he felt about this whole situation. He took a deep breath and let it out before putting on his signature smirk. "That wasn't an order, Freezer Burn. It was a suggestion." 

He got up from the couch and brushed imaginary dust off of himself. "Though. _Would_ you like to have something to eat? You don't have to if you don't want to." 

Bucky froze. This wasn't an order. It was a question. Someone was asking him what _he_ wanted to do. He didn't know how to respond. 

"I..." 

"A simple 'yes or no' would suffice." 

"..." He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. "..." 

Tony's smirk turned pained. "I'll give you time to decide. I'll come back later." 

As he made it to the door, a dry, cracking voice caused him to stop. 

"Maybe." 

Tony spun around to face the couched soldier with a smile. "Maybe?" 

Suddenly, Bucky looked very unsure. "...maybe?" 

"Great." Tony beamed. "Maybe's great." 

It wasn't a definite 'yes or no', but it was progress. 

And progress is most certainly great.

**Author's Note:**

> Tony can be caring. I don't like all the fics where he's nothing more than an asshole, like. He is a complex character damn it.


End file.
